socialmedian: The impossible dream

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Dreams in Print, Easier to Grasp By daynamarcum

Jan 06, 2009

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The impossible dream – Social Technology

Source: Robert Scoble - FriendFeed

Jan 03, 2009

Summary

For the past month or so I’ve had an idea percolating just beyond my grasp. I would occasionally get glimpses of what it was or what it wasn’t but never enough that I could get it down on paper – per se. I talked about the idea with Alexander van Elsas on Skype a week or so ago but as great as the conversation was it didn’t make getting all the pieces in place any easier. What I had in my head connected well enough but translating that to paper is still proving to be difficult.

The other part of the problem is like in the post I wrote about fear of thinking. It is one thing to work through an idea or concept in your head; or even talk with friends about it, but to commit it to a public viewing is nerve racking to say the least. However the bigger problem with ideas is that sometimes they just won’t let you go and you have no choice but to take the chance and let them free. This is such a case.

The germ of the dream

As enamoured as we are currently with Social Media we have become more entrapped by the services built on what Social Media is all about. Social Me

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Comments (9)

Thomaspower,

Jan 03, 2009

Love this.

Nigelwalsh,

Jan 03, 2009

an interesting article - which also brings a new question to mind - where do you now post comments to the article, to the actual article directly or on SM? If to the article, the author sees it, if to SM then the SM community see it.. or do you need to/should do both?

Sbtigris,

Jan 03, 2009

this is too good language site info..............@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Highest quality translation services in the industry through our special quality control system operated by carefully screened and selected translators.
http://www.tigristranslation.com/index.asp

Steven Hodson,

Jan 05, 2009

@nigelwalsh thanks for the good words - much apprciated

Steven Hodson,

Jan 05, 2009

@thomaspower glad you liked it

Nigelwalsh,

Jan 05, 2009

@StevenHodson I was actually thinking of your article again last night, Im reading the Clay Skirky book at the moment Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations and in his second chapter he talks about social/technology divides and what I would call evolution.. the dissappearnce of sribes in the 1400's due to new technology and widespread availability of type copy.. very interesting indeed..

Steven Hodson,

Jan 05, 2009

@nigelwalsh I always like hearing that my posts get people thinking. That one is probably the first of a few that I will be writing on the subject as I think there is a lot to work out about it.

Raythe,

Jan 05, 2009

Steven,

Great post for the start of the year. Thank you.

Mindful of the debates about socialmedian 'stealing' content :p I'll make some brief comments in this forum then a more considered posting on your blog.

There seems to be a theme of enfranchisement in the air, particularly apt given the appalling errors of judgment we're witnessing in the economies of the developed world.

In the 80s Vernor Vinge began a minor furor by introducing the concept of the 'technological singularity'. It returns as an interesting question now. The point is that we rush towards a singularity. Like a black hole, it sucks us in at an unprecedented rate, ignoring existing laws or understanding.

The 'ancients' had another word for it. They called it the 'Quickening'. A time when change accelerates at such a rate as to be almost completely unpredictable.

I agree completely with your post. Apart from the opinion that it won't happen in our lifetimes. There are forces that would stop it. But as we've seen in recent months, they are not the forces they (or, perhaps we) think they are. They are losing their grip in more ways than one. And then who is the authority?

Thanks again.